Crowned by the enemy Alpha

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

~KAELAN~•

I’m heading back to the dining room, hoping to finish the conversation with Lyria that got interrupted, when someone crashes into me at full speed.

The collision nearly knocks her over, and my hand goes instinctively to my blade before I register who it is.

“Alpha! I’m so sorry, Alpha!” The maid, Clara, I recognize now— gasps out an apology, her face flushed and panicked.

My fingers are already wrapped around the hilt of my blade, ready to strike. For a split second, the instinct to punish the disrespect flares hot in my chest.

“Alpha Kaelan.” Finn’s voice cuts through the haze, formal and careful in front of the maid. “She means no disrespect.”

I force my hand away from the weapon, taking a breath. The maid is trembling, and I realize how close I came to seriously hurting her over a simple accident.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, keeping my voice level. “Why are you running through the halls like that?”

Clara clutches her chest, trying to catch her breath. “It’s the Luna, Alpha! Sentinel Vera just ….she had her sword…..she cut the Luna’s throat!”

My blood turns to ice.

“What?”

I don’t wait for her to repeat it. I’m already moving, running through the corridors toward Lyria’s quarters. My heart pounds in my ears, drowning out everything else. Finn’s footsteps echo behind me, but I don’t slow down.

Vera attacked Lyria? Why? How?

The door to Lyria’s room is open. I burst through it, ready for blood, ready for violence….

And stop short.

Lyria and Vera are standing together near the window, both of them smiling. Talking like nothing is wrong.

But then I see it. The cut across Lyria’s throat, still fresh and bleeding slightly. The blood staining the collar of her dress.

My vision goes red.

Vera notices me first. Her expression shifts immediately from relaxed to formal, and she drops into a respectful bow. “Alpha.”

“Finn,” I say quietly, my eyes never leaving Vera. “Lock her up. Now.”

“What?” Both women speak at once, shock written across their faces.

“Alpha, I can explain…” Vera starts.

“I don’t want to hear it.” My voice is cold, deadly calm. “You drew your weapon on your Luna. That’s treason.”

“Alpha Kaelan, wait….” Lyria steps forward, but I hold up a hand to stop her.

“Finn. Take her to the dungeons. Immediately.”

Finn moves without hesitation, grabbing Vera’s arm. She doesn’t resist, but her eyes are wide with confusion and something that might be fear.

“Alpha, please….” she tries again.

“Out. Now.”

Finn drags her from the room, and the door closes behind them with a heavy thud. The silence that follows is deafening.

“Alpha Kaelan, what are you doing?” Lyria’s voice breaks through my fury.

I turn to her, taking in the wound on her neck, the blood, the paleness of her face. My hands shake with the need to do violence to whoever hurt her.

“Let me see the wound,” I say, moving toward her.

“It’s nothing…”

“Let me see it.”

She sighs but tilts her head back, allowing me to examine the cut. It’s shallow, thank the Moon Goddess, but it’s still a blade wound across her throat. A few inches to the side, a bit deeper, and she could have bled out.

The thought makes my stomach turn.

“Why did you lock Vera up?” Lyria asks quietly. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Your maid told me Vera cut your throat with her sword.” I pull back, trying to control the rage still simmering in my veins. “That sounds like she did plenty wrong.”

“We were training.”

I stare at her. “Training?”

“Yes. Training.” Lyria’s eyes meet mine, steady and clear. “Vera was testing me. Making sure I could defend myself in a real fight, not just in practice. It’s not her fault I wasn’t fast enough to avoid the cut completely.”

“She put a blade to your throat.”

“And I defended myself. I threw her off guard. I survived.” A small smile crosses her face. “She said I passed the test.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “That’s insane. She could have killed you.”

“But she didn’t. And now I know I can protect myself when it matters.” Lyria touches the wound gently, wincing slightly. “Vera isn’t a bad person, Alpha Kaelan. She’s actually been one of my strongest allies here. Please don’t punish her for helping me become stronger.”

Every instinct in me screams to disagree, to keep Vera locked up for daring to harm Lyria even in training. But the certainty in Lyria’s voice gives me pause.

“You need to see the pack doctor,” I say instead of arguing. “That wound needs to be properly cleaned and treated.”

“It’s fine….”

“It’s not fine. Either you go to the doctor, or I’ll call them here myself.”

Lyria opens her mouth to argue, then seems to think better of it. “Alright. I’ll go see the doctor.”

“Good.”

She starts to move past me toward the door, but then stops. “I heard about Damon’s guards.”

Of course she did. News travels fast in a pack.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “I’ve settled everything.”

“Settled?” She turns to face me fully. “You locked them in the dungeons. You threatened Damon. That’s not settling things….that’s starting a war.”

“Then let there be war.”

“Why?” Her voice rises slightly. “Why risk everything for me? Why not just… let me go back? It would be easier. Safer for your pack.”

The question hits me like a physical blow.

Let her go back? To Damon? After everything he did to her?

“Have you forgotten why I bought you in the first place?” I ask, my voice harder than I intend.

She flinches slightly, and I see the hurt flash across her face. But she nods. “No. I remember. Revenge. You wanted to use me against Damon.”

“Exactly.” The word tastes like poison. “So I’m not giving you back to him. That would defeat the entire purpose.”

It’s a lie. Or at least, it’s not the whole truth anymore.

But I can’t tell her the real reason.

“Right,” she says softly. “Revenge. I forgot for a moment.”

The pain in her voice cuts deeper than any blade could.

“Lyria….”

“I should go see the doctor.” She moves toward the door, not meeting my eyes. “And you should probably let Vera out of the dungeons before she starts plotting actual revenge on me.”